GrpT 
WAY  261990 


Greater   France 

And  Three  Cities 
(Bordeaux  -  Lyons  -  Marseilles) 


1PLIMENTS 

FRANK  KENNEDY 

-SENTATIVE  TWH 

907  KOHL  BLHLDING 

I   FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


Guaranty  Trust  Company 
of  New  York 


Greater  France 


Guaranty  Trust  Company  of  New  York 

140  Broadway 

FIFTH    AVENUE     OFFICE  MADISON  AVENUE  OFFICE  GRAND  STREET  OFFICE 

Fifth  Avenue  and  43rd  Street  Madison  Avenue  and  60th  Street  268     Grand     Street 

LONDON     OFFICES  LIVERPOOL      OFFICE 

32    Lombard     Street,     E.     C.  27  Cotton  Exchange  Buildings 

5  Lower  Grosvenor  PL,  S.  W. 

PARIS     OFFICE  HAVRE    OFFICE  BRUSSELS  OFFICE 

1  &  3  Rue  des   Italiens  122  Boulevard  Strasbourg  158      Rue     Royale 


COPYRIGHT,   1920 
GUARANTY  TRUST  COMPANY.  OF  NEW  YORK 


scs 


Greater  France 


DURING  the  most  trying  days  of  the 
struggle  you  never  doubted  your 
soldiers,"  remarked  a  noted  French  finan- 
cier to  a  world-famous  general  of  France 
who  was  inquiring  about  the  possibility 
of  rapid  economic  recovery.  "The  signing 
of  the  armistice  has  not  ended  the  war.  It 
has  merely  transferred  the  field  of  battle. 
Let  us  have  the  same  confidence  in  the 
Worker  of  France  as  we  all  have  had  in 
the  Soldier  of  France.  He  is  one  and  the 
same  man." 

France,  instead  of  idling,  as  some  ob- 
servers have  reported  after  a  cursory  sur- 
vey of  the  country,  has  accomplished  in 
the  last  year  so  stupendous  a  task  that 
one  marvels  how  the  work  has  been  done. 

Seventy-six  thousand  structures  had 
been  erected  or  repaired  by  the  end  of 
August,  1919,  and  60,000  additional 
buildings  were  then  under  construction. 
About  550,000  buildings  were  destroyed 


or  damaged  during  the  war.  At  the  same 
time,  89  per  cent,  of  the  destroyed  rail- 
road trackage  had  been  rebuilt,  an  area 
of  1,500  square  miles  of  shell-riddled,  till- 
able land  cleared  up,  80  million  cubic 
yards  of  trenches  filled,,  991,000  refugees 
returned  to  their  homes,  5,000  schools 
reopened,  and  3,872  civic  communities 
reorganized. 

The  surprise  attack  of  the  Germans 
was  aimed  at  the  vital  parts  of  French 
industrial  life.  The  battle  zones  and  the 
districts  occupied  by  the  enemy  repre- 
sented more  than  50  per  cent,  of  the 
nation's  coal  production,  92  per  cent,  of 
the  total  iron  ore  output,  81  per  cent,  of 
the  blast  furnaces  and  65  per  cent,  of 
the  steel  works.  This  same  territory  pro- 
duced before  the  war  about  three-fifths 
of  the  total  value  of  French  woolen 
goods,  and  three-quarters  of  the  French 
beet  sugar  crop. 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  New  York 

A  street  in  the  rebuilt  section  of  Peronne 


f/54237 


Courtesy  French  High  Commission 

A  house  in  the  Oise  Valley  reconstructed  by  the  American  Red  Cross 


The  economic  problem  which  faced  the 
French  Government  in  1914  was,  there- 
fore, that  of  transforming  its  peace-time 
industries  into  a  vast,  coordinated  war 
machine  to  supply  the  material  and  cloth- 
ing of  the  fighters,  besides  filling  the 
general  requirements  of  the  civilian  popu- 
lation. And  to  accomplish  this,  France 
could  dispose  of  only  10  per  cent,  of  her 
iron-ore  production,  20  per  cent,  of  her 
blast  furnaces,  and  35  per  cent,  of  her  steel 
works.  The  remarkable  effort  of  France 
is  best  told  by  saying  that  she  not  only 
succeeded  in  supplying  her  own  needs  but 
also  furnished  to  the  Allied  Powers  and  to 
the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  equip- 
ment valued  at  nearly  one  billion  dollars. 

The  rapid  recovery  of  France  from  the 
wars  of  1815  and  1870  has  always  been 
a  subject  of  favorable  comment  among 
economists.  Fifteen  years  after  the  down- 
fall of  Napoleon  I,  the  great  war  debt 
which  he  had  heaped  upon  the  nation  was 


almost  extinguished.  After  1852,  France 
became  the  active  industrial  leader  of  Con- 
tinental Europe.  Universal  exhibitions 
were  inaugurated  in  Paris  and  brought 
there  every  eleven  years  crowds  from  every 
corner  of  the  globe.  In  the  forty-three 
years  which  followed  the  disaster  of  1870, 
France's  recovery  was  a  subject  of  wonder 
to  the  Germans  themselves,  who  publicly 
regretted  the  fact  that  they  had  not  im- 
posed an  indemnity  of  more  than  5  billion 
francs.  Hampered  in  her  foreign  com- 
merce by  the  drastic  clauses  of  the  Treaty 
of  Frankfort,  France  sought  a  field  for  her 
activity  in  the  development  of  her  colonial 
domain  and  of  its  resources.  Today,  freed 
from  her  fetters  of  1870,  she  is  feeling 
her  strength,  and  her  ambition  will  be 
measured  only  by  her  physical  possibili- 
ties, which  present  evidences  indicate  are 
among  the  foremost  in  the  world. 

The  restoration  of  the  rich  territory  of 
Alsace-Lorraine   should   make  France  a 


[4; 


leader  in  the  European  steel  industry. 
With  the  addition  of  these  new  provinces, 
the  territorial  and  colonial  dominion  of  the 
French  Republic  today  is  an  economic  unit 
of  nearly  100  million  inhabitants,  a  rich  field 
for  French  commercial  and  industrial  en- 
deavor. The  natural  thrift  of  the  people 
— the  woolen  stocking  where  the  French 
peasant  accumulates  his  savings  is  a  pro- 
verbial institution — the  splendid  energy 
of  the  French,  and  the  "Americanism" 
of  the  new  business  generation  hold  forth 
the  promise  that  France's  remarkable 
recovery  after  defeat  and  territorial 
mutilation  in  1870  will  be  surpassed  by 
her  progress  after  the  victory  of  1918. 

Population  and  Territory 
France,  with  a  population  in  1911  of 
39,602,258,  is  about  four  times  as  large  in 
territory  as  New  York  State.  The  colonial 
empire  of  France  has  a  population  of  about 
60,000,000  and  is  one  and  a  quarter  times  as 
large  as  the  United  States.  In  addition,  the 
regained  provinces  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
have  a  population  of  nearly  2,000,000. 
France  also  controls,  by  the  terms  of  the 
Peace  Treaty,  the  rich  coal  basin  of  the 
Saar.    Greater  France  of  today  is,  accord- 


ingly, an  economic  unit  with  a  population 
of  about  100  million  and  with  a  volume 
of  basic  resources,  such  as  coal  and  iron, 
much  greater  than  before  the  war. 

The  war  losses  in  men  have  been  very 
great,  but  are  offset,  in  part,  by  the  resto- 
ration of  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  by  the  in- 
troduction and  great  development  during 
the  war  of  American  labor-saving  devices 
in  factories  and  of  American  farm  imple- 
ments and  tractors  in  the  fields. 

The  "human  wealth"  of  France  was 
greatly  depleted  during  the  war  by  the 
mobilization  of  8,392,000  out  of  the 
9,366,000  men  between  the  ages  of  18 
and  50.  This  represented  89.3  per  cent, 
of  France's  total  male  population  of  mil- 
itary age.  In  the  United  States  the 
number  of  men  mobilized  for  war  was 
only  16.8  per  cent,  of  our  total  war-power 
(3,700,000  men  were  mobilized  out  of 
22,000,000  available). 

Agriculture  and  Foodstuffs 
Before  the  war,  France  was  practically 
self-sustaining.  The  great  distribution 
of  land  ownership  among  the  peasants 
enabled  France  to  find  within  her  bound- 
aries the  greater  part  of  her  foodstuffs. 


Courtesy  French  High  Commission 


A  farm  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme.  Hundreds  of  these  farm  buildings  are  being  reconstructed  by  the 
American  Red  Cross  and  other  relief  organizations 

[5] 


French  Pictorial  Service.  X.  Y. 

Agricultural  machinery  ready  for  shipment  to  restored  farms 

Only  6  per  cent,  of  her  wheat  require-  of  this  factory  and  it  was  dismantled  and 

ments  had  to  be  met  by  importation ;  less  remounted  in  Germany.    This  is  only  one 

than  3  per  cent,  of  the  oats  consumed  of    countless    similar    occurrences    which 

came  from  her  colonies;  very  little  sugar  complicate  the  problem  of  reconstruction, 

and  only  a  few  specialized  meat  prepara-  The  restoration  of  farms  and  the  clear- 

tions,  mostly  table  delicacies,  came  from  jng  up  of  the  4>40o,000  acres  of  tillable 

abroad.  land  in  the  devastated  regions  are  pro- 

The  war,  of  course,  upset  the  well-  gressing    rapidly.    Sixty-five    per    cent, 

ordered  life  of  the  nation.    Mobilization  of  the  damaged  area,  in  fact,  had  been 

took  workers  from  the  fields;  old  men,  restored  to  cultivation  by  October,  1919. 

women  and  children  tilled  the  land  and  The  following  tabIe  shows  the  g^ 

fed  the  country  while  their  youths  fought  effort  made  to  ^  back  tQ  ^  prosperous 

off  the  invader.  condition  of  1913: 

The  result  was  that  the  area  of  culti- 

vated  land  between  1913  and  1917  fell  devastated 

from    about    16    million    acres    to     10^  area  soum               Percentage 

....               ,           ,             ,            ,  _        .,,.  as  compared                of  1913 

million    under   wheat;    from    10    million  with  1913             Production 

acres  to  7  million  under  oats,  and  from     Rye 42%  34% 

620,000  acres  to  less  than  200,000  under     Wheat 13%* 

sugar  beets.  0ats 53%  20% 

Of  the  206  beet  factories  in  operation  *20%  of  France's  total  Paction  in  1913. 

before  the  war  all  but  64  were  in  the  in-  Agricultural  machinery  and  fertilizers 

vaded  territory,  and  these  are  being  re-  are  being  extensively  used  to  replace  the 

built.      The   sugar  industry  was  highly  loss  of  farm  labor  resulting  from  the  war 

developed;   one  of   the  factories   in   the  and  from  the  increasing  call  of  the  factory, 

north  of  France  was  reputed  to  be  the  The  restoration  of  Alsace  will   mean  a 

most  modern   plant   of  its  kind  in  the  great  deal  to  French  agriculture,  as  its 

world.   German  engineers  drew  up  plans  output  of  potash  in  1913  was  350,000  tons. 

[6] 


Potash  mines  in  Alsace. 
This  province  produced 
350,000  Ions  of  potash  in 
1913,  and  its  restoration 
will  mean  much  to  French 
agriculture 


Photos  "La  France* 


The  1919  crop  was  short,  owing  to  the 
difficulties  described  in  the  foregoing  and 
also  to  unfavorable  weather  conditions. 

Large  purchases  of  foodstuffs,  amount- 
ing, it  is  estimated,  to  approximately 
$150,000,000,  must,  therefore,  be  made 
abroad  during  1920. 

France  abounds  in  vineyards  and  has 
been  for  centuries  the  greatest  producer  of 
wine.  From  1902  to  1913,  crops  yielded 
an  average  of  more  than  1,400  million 
gallons  a  year,  constituting  one  of  the 
great  sources  of  national  wealth. 

Mining  and  Steel  Industries 
The  coal  production  amounted  in  1913 
to  40  million  tons,  which,  together  with 
imports,  made  up  the  yearly  requirements 
of  63  million  tons. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  coal 
output  declined  more  than  50  per  cent., 
owing  to  the  occupation  of  the  northern 
coal  district.  But  the  speeding  up  of  the 
mines  in  other  regions  of  France  raised 
the  output  in  1917  to  28  million  tons. 


The  requirements  of  France,  with  the 
restoration  of  her  lost  territories  and  of 
the  basin  of  the  Saar,  are  estimated  at 
88  million  tons  a  year,  which  will  be  met 
as  follows: 

Tons 

Non-occupied  mines 28,000,000 

Alsace-Lorraine 3,000,000 

Saar  Basin  (Surplus  over  local  needs)      7,000,000 

38,000,000 
German  obligation  by  Peace  Treaty 

to  replace  production  of  destroyed 

mines 20,000,000 

German   average   deliveries   before 

the  war,  also  stipulated  by  Peace 

Treaty 7,000,000 

27,000,000 
Estimated  production  of  mines  of 
Northern  France  after  being  put 
in  order 46,000,000 

111,000,000 

German  deliveries  are  inadequate  and 
the  mines  of  Northern  France  will  not 
be  in  full  operation  for  some  time.  An 
agreement   has   just   been   entered    into 


Courtesy  French  High  Commission 

Alsatian  refugees  returning  to  their  homes  in  motor  trucks  from  the  interior  of  France 

[8] 


between  France  and  Belgium  whereby 
Belgium  will  furnish  coal  in  payment  for 
the  iron  ore  which  she  requires  from 
France. 

In  the  14  years  preceding  the  war 
France  increased  her  steel  production  150 
per  cent.,  being  fourth  among  world 
powers  in  this  industry,  and  won  second 
place  in  point  of  pig-iron  output  with 
an  increase  of  87  per  cent.,  leaving  a 
good  surplus  for  export. 

Extensive  development  of  the  iron 
fields  of  Normandy  during  the  war  give 
promise  of  a  considerably  enlarged  iron 
output  within  the  confines  of  the  pre- 
war borders  of  France.  With  the  res- 
toration of  Alsace-Lorraine,  whose  pro- 
duction of  iron  ore  in  1913  was  20,536,- 
000  tons,  the  French  output — according 
to  a  statement  made  by  the  Chairman 
of  the  French  Economic  Mission  at  the 
recent  International  Trade  Conference — 
will  be  45  million  tons  of  iron  ore,  of 
which  17  million  tons  will  be  free  for 
export;  and  9  million  tons  of  pig-iron, 
of  which  1,250,000  tons  will  be  available 
for  foreign  trade.  More  than  8  million 
tons  of  steel  products  will  permit  the 
sale  abroad  of  2  million  tons.  France  will 
thus  rank  high  on  the  list  of  the  world's 
steel  producing  countries. 

Water  Power 
Every  effort  is  being  made  to  economize 
coal  and  develop  natural  resources.  France 
has  harnessed  water-power  in  this  struggle. 
Today  the  available  horse-power  is  about 
double  that  of  1913  and  in  1920  it  will 
reach  1,500,000  horse-power.  Much  was 
done  during  the  war  by  the  Technical 
Board  of  the  American  Expeditionary 
Forces  to  give  the  French  the  benefit 
of  American  experience  in  this  field, 
and  the  present  investment  in  "white 
fuel"  equipment  in  France  represents  a 
value  of  more  than  300  million  dollars,  of 
which  120  million  were  subscribed  during 
the  war.   A  full  utilization  of  the  known 


resources  of  the  estimated  6,000,000 
horse-power  would  represent  a  fuel  saving 
of  approximately  30,000,000  tons  of  coal 
annually. 

The  use  of  fuel  oil  is  being  greatly 
extended  in  France.  The  shale-beds  of 
Autun;  the  Peschelbronn  district  in  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  producing  51,193  tons  of  oil  per 
annum,  and  where  a  new  gusher  of  30 
tons  daily  output  has  just  been  dis- 
covered; and  the  oil  wells  of  Algeria  are 
the  main  home  sources  of  supply.  Their 
development  is  being  actively  pushed  but 
recourse  to  importation  which,  it  is  esti- 
mated, will  amount  to  75  million  dollars 
in  1920  must  be  made  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  country.  Tanks  with  a  total 
storage  capacity  of  600,000  tons  have 
been  built  at  the  leading  ports,  4,000 
railroad  tank  cars  are  now  available,  and 
the  French  tariff  has  been  lowered  from 
$25  to  80  cents  per  ton. 

Textiles 

The  cotton  industry  of  France  requires 
about  1,100,000  bales  of  cotton  a  year, 
valued  at  about  $200,000,000.  The  supply 
comes  mostly  from  the  United  States, 
although  Algeria  and  the  French  African 
colonies  are  beginning  to  furnish  cotton 
to  the  home  market. 

This  industry,  employing  300,000  opera- 
tors— 1,200,000,  if  operators  in  affiliated 
industries  be  included — numbered  7,400,- 
000  spindles  and  140,000  looms.  Fifteen 
per  cent,  of  the  cotton  industry  was  lo- 
cated in  the  invaded  district  but  the  other 
regions  of  France  increased  their  produc- 
tion in  an  effort  to  make  up  for  this  de- 
ficiency and  to  meet  the  extra  demand 
resulting  from  war  orders.  With  the  ad- 
dition of  Alsace,  the  total  number  of 
spindles  in  France  will  be  8,400,000  and 
that  of  looms  185,000,  while  exports  of 
cotton  goods  will  doubtless  be  more  than 
doubled,  constituting  a  great  source  of 
new  wealth  to  France. 


[»] 


Woolen  fabrics  exported  before  the  war 
were  in  excess  of  18,000  tons  per  annum, 
the  total  production  occupying  2,600,000 
spindles,  to  which  Alsace  adds  another 
500,000  spindles.  With  Alsace,  France 
will  have  more  than  13  per  cent,  of  the 
world's  total  number  of  looms  employed 
for  woolen  products. 

The  yearly  exports  of  linen,  hemp  and 
jute  amounted  to  50  million  dollars  before 
the  war,  while  silk  exports,  for  which 
Lyons  is  famous,  reached  100  million 
dollars  a  year. 

The  excellent  quality  and  artistic  de- 
sign of  French  textiles  are  appreciated 
the  world  over,  and  with  5  years'  ex- 
perience of  short  cuts  in  production,  it  is 
safe  to  predict  that  this  category  of  ex- 
ports will  greatly  increase. 

Transportation 
The  main  arteries  of  communication 
in  France  comprised  in  1913  more  than 
32,000  miles  of  railroads,  3,000  miles  of 
canals,  4,250  miles  of  navigable  rivers  and 
375,000  miles  of  good  highways.    To  these 


should  be  added  nearly  4,000,000  gross 
tons  of  ocean  cargo  carriers  now  under 
the  French  flag. 

Of  3,500  miles  of  destroyed  railroad 
trackage,  all  but  122  miles  had  been  re- 
built by  December  1,  1919.  Eight- tenths 
of  the  damaged  waterways  also  were  open 
to  traffic  on  that  date. 

Electrification  of  French  Railways 

In  the  general  reconstruction  program, 
the  building  of  new  lines  of  railroad  and 
the  electrification  of  lines  already  existing 
occupy  a  prominent  place. 

At  the  request  of  M.  Claveille,  Min- 
ister of  Public  Works,  a  recent  study  has 
been  made  to  determine  whether  elec- 
tricity can  be  used  to  economic  advan- 
tage as  motive  power  for  railroads. 

The  special  investigating  commission 

recommended  the  electrification  of  5,220 

miles  of  track  as  follows: 

Paris-Orleans: 

1.926  miles  out  of  a  total  of  4,839  miles 

Paris,  Lyons  &  Mediterranean: 

1,368  miles  out  of  a  total  of  6,040  miles 

Midi:       1,926  miles  out  of  a  total  of  2,525  miles 


Section  Photographique  de  l'Armee,  Paris 


Rebuilding  a  railroad  in  the  devastated  region 
[101 


The  upper  Dordogne  River  and  its 
branches  are  to  furnish  electric  power 
for  the  Paris-Orleans  road.  In  1905- 
1906  the  electrification  of  the  Midi  Rail- 
way was  begun,  the  water-power  of  the 
Pyrenees  being  used.  This  plan  was  first 
thought  out  because  several  of  the 
gradients  along  this  road  were  almost 
impossible  for  steam-propelled  loco- 
motives. The  necessary  power  for  the 
electrification  of  the  Paris,  Lyons  & 
Mediterranean  Railway  will  be  ob- 
tained by  the  construction  of  a  dam  near 
Florae  in  the  Department  of  the  Lozere, 
closing  up  a  small  valley  so  as  to  form 
a  fresh-water  lake  which  will  contain  ap- 
proximately 158,760,000  cu.  ft.  of  water. 
The  cost  of  constructing  the  lake  and 
power  station  is  estimated  at  about 
$40,000,000. 

So  comprehensive  a  program  as  that 
outlined  by  M.  Claveille  will  take  many 
years  for  complete  execution.  It  seems 
certain,  however,  that  about  500  miles 
of  railroad  will  be  electrified  in  the  near 
future,  and  on  account  of  the  present 
high  prices  and  scarcity  of  coal,  a  con- 
dition which  will  doubtless  continue  for 
some  time,  it  is  quite  probable  that 
within  the  next  10  years  several  thousand 
miles  of  railway  line  will  be  changed  from 
steam  to  electrical  operation. 

The  effect  of  this  on.  the  transportation 
problem  of  France  will  be  a  significant 
factor  in  the  future  commercial  and 
industrial  development  of  France. 

Merchant  Marine 

The  merchant  fleet  is  being  increased  to 
6,000,000  gross  tons  and  will  enable  France 
to  benefit  fully  from  the  exceptional 
advantages  of  her  geographic  position 
as  a  port  of  transit  for  Central  and  South- 
ern Europe.  Vast  plans  are  being  carried 
out  to  meet  these  conditions.  Enlarged 
docks,  vast  piers,  and  modern  electric 
cranes  will  reduce  terminal  costs. 


The  following  table  shows  the  situation 
of  the  merchant  fleet  at  present,  together 
with  the  changes  it  has  undergone  since 
the  beginning  of  the  war: 

Tons 

August  1,  1914 2,755,775 

Loss  during  the  war.    .    .       1,128,792 


Additions  during  the  war 
Additions  during  1919 .    . 

Present  status 


1,626,983 

418,375 

1,851,201 

3,896,559 

Besides  the  increase  of  the  merchant 
marine,  three  transportation  problems  of 
considerable  economic  importance  are  at 
present  occupying  the  French  Govern- 
ment: the  crossing  of  the  Vosges  Moun- 
tains by  rail,  which  military  reasons  pre- 
vented earlier;  the  improvement  of  the 
canals  leading  to  the  Rhine;  and  the  bet- 
terment of  the  port  of  Strasburg. 

The  use  of  the  Rhine,  insured  to  France 
by  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  which  has  opened 
the  river  to  international  navigation,  will 
mean  a  new  source  of  wealth. 

France  alone  may  draw  from  the  Rhine, 
between  the  extreme  eastern  points  of  the 
French  frontiers,  the  water  necessary  to 
the  functioning  of  her  lateral  canals;  she 
will  also  have  exclusive  right  to  the  hy- 
draulic power  generated  by  this  portion 
of  the  river.  Measures  have  already  been 
taken  to  use  the  Rhine  for  export  and 
import  trade  all  the  way  from  Basle  to 
Rotterdam;  as  well  as  to  construct  central 
hydraulic  power  stations  along  that  part 
of  the  river  mentioned  above,  for  the 
utilization  of  the  great  power  supply 
made  available  by  it.  This  power  will  be 
made  use  of  mostly  by  the  City  of  Paris 
and  the  surrounding  districts,  which  will 
then,  at  a  low  cost,  greatly  increase  their 
present  industrial  capacity. 

Commerce 
Confronting  the  menace  of  the  surprise 
attack  of  1914  and  the  continued  pressure 
and  assaults  of  the  ensuing  years,  France 


11 


French  Pictorial  Service,  N.  T. 


Distilling  room  in  a  large  perfumery 


threw  practically  all  of  her  energies  into 
feeding,  clothing  and  arming  her  fighting 
sons.  Imports  increased  and  exports  de- 
creased, all  industrial  and  commercial  in- 
terests being  subordinated  to  the  needs 
of  national  defense. 

Manufactured  products  before  the  war 
were  67  per  cent,  of  total  exports,  which 
were  less  than  imports,  this  unfavorable 
trade  balance  being  compensated  chiefly 
by  the  revenue  derived  from  foreign  in- 
vestments. 

Exports  to  the  United  States  and  her 
colonies  in  1919  were  greater  than  in  1913, 
with  an  increase  of  191  per  cent,  over 
1918,  as  shown  in  the  following  table : 

EXPORTS  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND 

COLONIES 

1913  ....         $81,566,239 

1918  ....    56,038,127 

1919  ....    165,401,691 

France  is  in  a  particularly  favorable 
position  to  expand  her  trade  in  the  Near 
East  and  with  her  colonies.     While  the 


depreciation  of  the  French  franc  in  certain 
countries  may  be  a  handicap  to  the  pur- 
chase of  raw  materials  or  even  to  the  sale 
of  products,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  it 
will  prove  a  great  help  to  France  in  re- 
gaining the  foreign  markets  lost  during 
the  war. 

FRANCE'S  FOREIGN  COMMERCE 
In  millions  of  francs 
Imports  Exports 

1912 8,231  6,713 

1913 8,421  6,880 

1914 6,402  4,869 

1915 11,036  3,937 

1916 15,159  5,102 

1917 16,312  4,083 

1918 22,662  4,723 

1919 29,778  8,713 

General  Reconstruction 
The  wonderful  efficiency  of  the  French 
nation  as  a  fighting  organization  was  in 
itself  a  guarantee  that  the  national  peace 


[12] 


time  equipment  for  production  was  highly 
developed.  Nor  was  this  magnificent 
equipment  for  the  production  of  the 
materials  required  in  war  used  up  in  a 
single  supreme  effort.  France  was  not 
exhausted  at  the  close  of  the  war,  as  was 
abundantly  shown  by  the  repeated  attacks 
of  the  final  general  offensive  which  gained 
in  power  to  the  very  end. 

As  the  war  progressed  there  was  expan- 
sion of  the  capital  equipment  in  various 
lines  of  industry.  New  plants  were  con- 
structed and  old  plants  were  enlarged. 
Munition  factories  necessarily  experienced 
the  largest  expansion. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  French 
put  into  operation  the  new  plants  is  in- 
dicated by  the  results  of  an  investigation 
made  by  the  Department  of  Labor  in 
July,  1917.  Mines,  quarries,  railways, 
tramways,  and  establishments  which  were 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Ministries  of 
War  and  Marine  were  not  included  in  the 


investigation.  In  the  52,278  plants  in- 
vestigated, engaged  in  what  may  be  called 
civilian  production,  it  was  found  that 
the  number  of  employees  at  work  in  July, 
1917,  was  larger  than  the  number  em- 
ployed before  the  war,  the  figures  being 
respectively  1,559,393  and  1,524,959.  The 
construction  of  new  plants  and  the  en- 
largement of  old  ones  was  widely  dis- 
tributed among  the  several  branches  of 
industry.  The  chemical  industries  neces- 
sarily were  stimulated  very  largely.  Be- 
fore the  signing  of  the  armistice  the  pro- 
duction of  sulphuric  acid  had  almost 
doubled  the  pre-war  volume  and  the  out- 
put of  nitric  acid  had  increased  to  30  or 
40  times  the  former  production. 

The  iron  deposits  of  Normandy  gave 
rise  to  a  new  and  important  smelting 
industry  in  that  region. 

In  the  field  of  mechanical  construction 
the  war  occasioned  the  renewal  in  large 
part  of  the  tool  equipment  of  thevFrench 
factories.     The   scarcity    ofjj  workers    in 


Courtesy  French  High  Commission 

One  of  the  many  munitions  factories  converted  to  manufacture  tools  and  machines  for  reconstruction 

fisl 


Courtesy  French  Higli 

A  school  of  cabinetmaking  at  Lyons,  where  ex-soldiers  are  trained  for  civilian  trades 


many  cases  was  largely  offset  by  the 
introduction  of  labor-saving  machines. 
In  fact,  the  general  utilization  of  machin- 
ery did  not  merely  replace  former  workers; 
it  carried  production  to  levels  never  before 
attained. 

Immediately  after  the  signing  of  the 
armistice  the  Minister  of  the  Liberated 
Regions  requested  to  have  placed  at  his 
disposal  as  much  as  possible  of  the  narrow 
gauge  railway  (24  inches)  left  in  the  wake 
of  the  army  and  which  had  been  used  for 
the  transportation  of  military  supplies. 
But  this  service  required  complete  reor- 
ganization on  a  peace  footing;  its  per- 
sonnel of  12,000  soldiers  was  to  be  de- 
mobilized and  replaced  by  civilians.  Be- 
sides this,  repairs,  changes  in  routes  and 
increase  in  rolling  stocks  were  required. 
The  results  in  March  and  August,  1919, 
compare  as  follows: 

1919 
March  SI  August  31 

Miles  in  operation    .  60  945 

Cars  in  service  ...  787  3,346 

Locomotives  in  service  50  230 

Tonnage 25,354  2,369,392 


Provisions  for  1920  are:  600  locomo- 
tives; 8,000  cars;  3,500  kilometers  of 
trackage  in  operation;  tonnage  capacity, 
6,500,000. 

The  French  people  have  made  surpris- 
ing progress  in  the  period  since  the  armi- 
stice in  readjusting  industry  to  a  peace 
basis.  As  early  as  February,  1919,  the 
Minister  of  Industrial  Reconstruction  re- 
ported that  out  of  a  total  of  1,700,000 
employees  occupied  on  November  11, 
1918,  in  a  group  of  Government  and 
private  plants,  1,300,000  were  then  en- 
gaged in  peace-time  pursuits. 

An  investigation  conducted  in  1,986 
industrial  plants  located  in  the  occupied 
area  and  employing  more  than  20  work- 
men each,  shows  the  following  resump- 
tion: 


1919 
August  1     . 
September  1 
October  1   . 
November  1 


Establishments 

having 

resumed 

835 

1,027 

1,278 

1,385 


Percentage 

of  personnel 

compared 

with  1914 

12.7 

16.6 

20.8 

23.1 


14 


The  Government  had  made  on  Novem- 
ber 15,  1919,  advances  in  excess  of  3  bil- 
lion francs  to  the  industrial  interests  of 
this  region  for  the  reconstruction  of  their 
factories,  and  the  budget  for  1920  pro- 
vides for  the  expenditure  of  nearly 
5  billion  francs  during  the  first  quarter 
for  the  same  purpose. 

To  hasten  the  actual  work  of  reconstruc- 
tion and  to  facilitate  the  securing  of  the 
necessary  credits  by  the  beneficiaries,  a 
private  financial  corporation,  the  National 
Credit,  has  recently  been  created  and  au- 
thorized to  provide  funds  for  reconstruction 
purposes.  This  institution  is  also  author- 
ized to  make  long-term  loans  to  encourage 
French  industry  and  commerce  in  general. 

In  order  to  be  in  a  position  to  finance 
these  operations,  the  National  Credit 
has  issued  a  loan  of  4  billion  francs.  The 
particular  attraction  of  premium  and 
lot  features  which  are  such  an  induce- 
ment to  the  French  investor,  together  with 
the  confidence  inspired  by  the  country's 
future,  were  such  that  this  loan  was  over- 
subscribed four  times. 

Colonial  Possessions 

A  most  significant  factor  for  the  indus- 
trial future  of  France  is  her  vast  colonial 


domain.  The  area  of  the  French  colonies 
and  dependencies  is  23  times  that  of  con- 
tinental France,  and  the  estimated  pop- 
ulation in  1913  was  greater  than  that  of 
France  by  about  25  per  cent. 

Nearest  to  France  are  Algeria,  Tunis 
and  Morocco.  These  countries  were  at 
one  time  called  the  granary  of  Rome 
and  it  is  believed  that  in  a  short  time 
they  will  become  the  granary  of  France. 
They  are  already  important  producers 
not  only  of  wheat  but  of  fruit,  wine  and 
cattle.  Cotton  can  be  profitably  grown 
in  some  sections.  The  mineral  wealth 
of  these  regions  is  considerable;  large 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  zinc,  lead  and  phos- 
phates are  being  developed.  Reports 
have  been  made  of  an  extensive  coal 
field  in  Algeria;  and  petroleum  has  been 
discovered  in  both  Algeria  and  Morocco. 
In  Algeria  considerable  development  of 
the  oil  resources  has  already  been  accom- 
plished. 

Among  other  important  French  colo- 
nies are  prosperous  countries  in  West 
and  Central  Africa,  also  Indo-China, 
Madagascar  and  the  French  Islands  of 
the  Antilles  and  the  Pacific. 


Ministere  de  la  Guerre 


An  automobile  factory  in  Paris 
[151 


ench  High  Commissi 


Timber  being  -prepared  for  reconstruction  work 


An  indication  of  the  preparations  al- 
ready made  for  the  industrial  develop- 
ment of  the  French  colonies  is  found  in 
the  railways  in  operation  before  the 
war.  Distribution  of  the  colonial  rail- 
way mileage  in   1913   is   shown   in   the 

following  table: 

Miles 

Algeria 2,760 

Tunis 1,420 

Morocco 345 

West  Africa 1,520 

Indo-China 1,280 

Other  Colonies 425 

Total 7,740 

The  railway  building  program  for 
Africa  is  suggestive  of  the  conception 
which  the  French  leaders  have  formed 
of  the  value  of  the  colonies  in  the  future 
development  of  France. 

It  is  reported  that  a  French  committee 
for  the  development  of  the  African  rail- 
roads approved  late  in  1918  a  program 
for  the  construction  of  18,000  miles  of 
track  during  the  next  fifteen  years.  It 
is  proposed  to  extend  a  certain  number 
of  existing  lines  in  Algiers  and  Tunis 
toward    the    highland    and    build    rail 

[ 


connections  in  Morocco.  Another  pro- 
posal is  to  connect  northern  Africa  with 
the  southwest  coast  on  the  one  hand  and 
with  equatorial  Africa  on  the  other.  This 
is  to  be  accomplished  by  a  road  across  the 
Sahara,  reaching  the  Niger  at  Bourem 
and  the  Chad  Lake  by  way  of  Nguigni- 
Massenya.  The  cost  of  this  railway 
program  is  estimated  at  $800,000,000. 

Harbors  also  are  undergoing  extensive 
improvements;  for  Algiers  a  sum  of 
$20,000,000  has  been  provided.  The 
construction  of  the  port  of  Casabanca, 
capable  of  handling  1,500,000  tons  of 
shipping,  is  being  rapidly  carried  out. 
Other  ports  also  are  undergoing  similar 
improvements. 

France's  colonies  have  enormous  forest 
resources  estimated  at  232,000,000  acres, 
nearly  ten  times  those  of  France.  In- 
tensive exploitation  during  the  war  and 
damages  by  war  have  greatly  depleted 
France's  wealth  in  timber.  Recon- 
struction will  demand  about  200,000,000 
cubic  meters  of  wood.  A  thorough  sur- 
vey is  being  made  of  colonial  forests  and 
concessions  will  be  granted  to  concerns 
16] 


which  will  agree  to  supply  wood  for  the 
work  of  reconstruction. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
enormous  resources  of  the  French  colo- 
nies are  only  slightly  developed,  the 
foreign  trade  of  the  colonies  in  1913 
totaled  $608,800,000,  approximately 
one-fourth  as  much  as  that  of  France 
proper.  It  is  important  to  note  that  55 
per  cent,  of  the  imports  were  supplied  by 
France,  which  received  in  return  49  per 
cent,  of  the  exports.  Imports  include 
mostly  manufactured  products,  while 
exports  comprise  foodstuffs,  oil,  lumber, 
cotton,  rubber  and  ores. 

The  indications  are  that  the  develop- 
ment of  these  colonies  will  progress  much 
more  rapidly  in  the  near  future  than  in  the 
years  immediately  before  the  war.  France 
will  need  during  1920  about  650  million 
dollars'  worth  of  foodstuffs  and  raw  ma- 
terials—namely, foodstuffs,  $150,000,000; 


cotton,  $200,000,000;  copper, $70,000,000; 
oil,  $75,000,000;  chemicals,  tobacco,  metal- 
lurgic  products,  fuel  oil  and  coal,  $150,- 
000,000 .  A  great  proportion  of  these  needs 
will  be  filled  by  French  colonies,  while  the 
manufacturing  capacity  of  France  will 
require  new  outlets,  so  that  these  colonial 
possessions  will  undoubtedly  play  a  most 
important  part  in  the  development  of 
French  industry. 

Finances 

France  is  a  country  of  thrift.  When  a 
country  writes  into  its  corporation  law  the 
obligation  of  all  companies  to  set  aside 
5  per  cent,  of  their  yearly  earnings  to  con- 
stitute a  legal  reserve  fund  before  any 
dividends  may  be  disbursed,  it  may  well 
be  considered  as  an  example  by  many 
other  nations. 

The  budget  for  1913  amounted  to 
$1,020,000,000,    of   which   84   per   cent. 


Copyright  Brown  Bros. 

Timber  from  the  forests  of  Lorraine  ready  for  shipment  to  the  devastated  parts  of  France. 
200,000,000  cubic  meters  of  wood  will  be  used  in  reconstruction  work 

[17] 


About 


came  from  that  part  of  France  which 
did  not  suffer  from  the  invasion.  An  in- 
crease in  burden  of  120  per  cent,  was  car- 
ried in  1919  by  this  same  section  of  the 
country. 

In  1915,  the  French  Government  was 
opposed  to  any  great  fiscal  effort.  The 
collection  of  taxes  was  difficult,  owing  to 
the  mobilization  of  tax  collectors  and  of 
taxpayers  and  the  war  was  not  expected 
to  last  a  very  long  time. 

Toward  the  mid- 


moratorium  had  been  decreed,  is  ample 
proof  of  his  readiness  to  meet  his  obli- 
gations. He  has  willingly  curtailed  his 
expenses  in  order  to  "carry  on"  until 
such  time  as  Germany  shall  meet  the 
obligations  imposed  upon  her  by  the 
Treaty  of  Peace. 

Deposits  in  savings  banks  on  De- 
cember 31,  1919,  for  example,  totaled 
6,066,000,000  francs.  And  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  maximum  deposit 
for  one  account  per- 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 


die  of  1916  it  was 
decided  to  adopt 
certain  fiscal  meas- 
ures to  increase  the 
revenue.  These 
measures,  and  the 
excess  over  esti- 
mates, particularly 
in  1919,  of  indirect 
taxes  and  the  yield 
of  monopolies,  made 
possible  the  pay- 
ment to  the  Treas- 
ury of  about  10 
billion  francs. 

From  August  1, 
1914,  until  the  end 
of  1919,  the  taxes 
recovered  totaled, 
at  par  of  exchange, 

about  6  billion  dollars,  against  which  there 
was  an  expenditure  of  about  38  billion 
dollars.  Loans  of  various  kinds  and  ad- 
vances, in  great  part  from  the  Bank  of 
France,  balanced  the  deficit. 

"It  is  necessary,"  said  the  Minister  of 
Finance,  in  a  recent  announcement,  "that 
the  taxpayer  should  know  at  once  that  the 
increased  taxation  which  he  is  to  bear  will 
not  fall  short  of  7  billions"  (francs). 

The  Frenchman  knows  that  extra  taxa- 
tion is  necessary  to  meet  this  temporary 
situation  and  the  payment  during  the 
war  of  about  4,000,000,000  francs  on 
commercial  paper,  lodged  with  the  Bank 
of  France,  for  the  maturity  of  which  a 


The  American  Forestry  Association  has  shipped 
35,000,000  tree  seeds  for  the  replanting  of 
French  and  Belgian  forests 


mitted  under  the 
law  was  3,000  francs 
up  to  October  19 
last,  when  the 
amount  was  in- 
creased to  5,000 
francs.  Gold  hold- 
ings by  the  Bank 
of  France  on 
February  18,  1920, 
were  5,581,270,275 
francs,  against  a 
note  circulation 
of  37,958,511,021 
francs. 

During  the  first 
eleven    months    o  f 
1919,  the  sumsyield- 
ed  by  indirect  tax- 
ation, Government 
monopolies,  public  works  and  from  other 
sources    greatly   surpassed    the    estimate 
made  by   the  Ministry  of  Finance. 

Payments  from  all  these  sources  to  the 
Treasury  during  November,  1919,  demon- 
strate a  rapid  return  to  normal  of  the 
various  phases  of  business  life — the  in- 
crease over  November,  1918,  being  81  per 
cent.  Internal  revenue  on  articles  of  con- 
sumption increased  72  per  cent,  during  the 
same  period,  customs  receipts  were  69  per 
cent,  greater,  and  the  sum  produced  by 
the  Government's  monopolies  showed  the 
following  increases:  Explosives,  121  per 
cent.;  tobacco,  105  per  cent.;  matches, 
101  per  cent. 


[is; 


The  debt  of  France  amounts,  at  par 
of  exchange,  to  about  40  billion  dollars, 
about  6  times  her  pre-war  debt.  Only 
6  billion  dollars  constitutes  the  foreign 
debt. 

The  great  confidence  in  their  Govern- 
ment displayed  by  the  French  people  is 
evidenced  by  the  wide  distribution  of 
national  bonds,  almost  one  inhabitant  out 
of  every  five  being  a  bondholder. 

Foreign  Investments 

The  foreign  investments  of  France  be- 
fore the  war,  as  estimated  by  former 
Finance  Minister  Klotz,  were  approxi- 
mately $9,000,000,000.  These  invest- 
ments were  widely  distributed,  most  of 
them  being  in  countries  which  are 
relatively  new  in  an  industrial  sense. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  total  was  in 
Russia.  Approximately  $1,000,000,000 
was  invested  in  Latin  America,  partic- 
ularly in  Argentina  and  Brazil.  In  Egypt 
was  some  $500,000,000  of  French  in- 
vestments and  a  like  amount  was  in  vari- 
ous French  colonies. 

At  pre-war  valuations,  these  invest- 
ments, then,  taking  no  account  of  the 
advances  by  France  to  Allies  during  the 
war,  greatly  exceed  the  external  debt 
of  the  French  Government. 

With  the  further  industrial  develop- 
ment of  these  countries,  the  French  in- 
vestments should  prove  increasingly 
profitable  to  France.  The  existing  in- 
vestments will  tend  to  stimulate  further 
investment  of  French  capital  in  these 
same  countries  which  are  undergoing 
development.  Generally  speaking,  these 
investments  have  a  double  advantage 
for  French  industry.  In  the  first  place, 
they  give  rise  directly  to  an  additional 
demand  for  the  exportation  of  French 
commodities — that  is,  various  materials 
needed  in  construction  work  and  equip- 


ment supplies.  In  general,  the  export 
of  capital  is  largely  in  the  form  of  actual 
goods  sent  out  by  the  investors  or  their 
fellow  nationals.  Another  influence  is 
the  favorable  effect  upon  franc  exchange. 
The  interest  and  dividend  payments  on 
these  investments  correspond  to  the 
exportation  of  goods  in  their  effect  up- 
on the  balance  of  the  country's  inter- 
national payments.  Consequently  French 
foreign  investments  are  particularly 
significant  at  the  present  time  of  unusual 
need  for  building  up  the  credit  side  of  the 
country's  trade  balance. 

Future  of  France 

France  has  paid  dearly  for  the  privilege 
of  battling  for  the  freedom  of  the  world. 
She  has  lost  6.4  per  cent,  of  her  population, 
and  "has  recklessly  sacrificed  a  vast  part 
of  the  wealth  she  had  accumulated  as  the 
fruit  of  centuries  of  toil  and  stinting." 

It  has  taken  many  months  to  make  the 
necessary  inventory  of  the  devastated  re- 
gions and  to  clear  up  the  wreckage,  but 
reconstruction  is  today  in  full  swing. 

A  new  breath  of  life  has  swept  over 
France.  The  new  generation  has  lived 
out  of  doors  for  four  years  and  it  wants 
more  activity,  more  air.  At  night,  in  the 
silence  of  the  trenches,  many  strong  reso- 
lutions were  made  which  will  provide 
a  tremendous  impetus  to  business  energy 
in  the  new  France  of  today.  Four  hun- 
dred young  demob  lized  professors,  it  is 
reported,  have  declined  the  offer  to 
resume  their  teaching  and  have  taken 
situations  in  manufacturing  or  commer- 
cial businesses. 

The  example  of  the  great  industrial  na- 
tions of  the  world  was  deeply  meditated 
in  many  minds  during  the  four  years  of 
war,  and  there  is  dawning  what  her 
admirers  already  call  by  the  name  of 
Greater  France. 


19 


Three  Cities  in  Southern  France 

Bordeaux — Lvons — Marseilles 


THE  south  of  France  has  been  a  great 
factor  in  the  wealth  of  the  entire 
country,  and  particularly  in  its  successful 
industrial  support  of  the  war  and  rapid 
recovery  since  the  armistice.  Before  the 
war,  the  richest  industrial  sections  of 
France  were  located  in  the  northeast  and 
east,  near  the  rich  coal  deposits,  but  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  pre-war  conditions  will 
no  longer  prevail,  owing  to  the  great  de- 
velopment during  the  last  five  years  of 
the  non-invaded  regions  of  France. 

The  necessities  of  war  have  spurred 
France  to  an  unprecedented  industrial 
activity.  The  decision  to  develop  the 
great  water-power  resources  of  France, 
in  an  effort  to  save  coal,  has  called  the 
attention  of  the  nation  to  the  mountain- 
ous districts  of  the  Alps,  Cevennes,  and 
Pyrenees  of  southern  France  where  the 
majority  of  these  resources  are  located. 
The  development  of  this  plan  will  mean 
the  electrification  of  the  great  trunk  line 
railways  and  the  creation  and  enlarge- 
ment of  many  industries,  which  will  result 
in  the,  enrichment  of  these  regions. 

The  growth  of  the  three  large  cities  of 
Lyons,  Marseilles,  and  Bordeaux  during 
the  war  period  is  indicative  of  the  rapid 
industrial  expansion  in  southern  France. 

The  movement  in  their  population  is 
shown  in  the  following  figures : 

1918  Percentage 

1911        Estimated  of  Change 

France    .    .  39,601,509    37,000,000  —  7% 

Bordeaux   .        261,678         305,000  +17% 

Lyons     .    .        523,796         600,000  +15% 

Marseilles  .        550,619         750,000  +36% 

The  invasion  by  the  Germans  of  the 
highly  industrial  northern  section  forced 


many  industries  to  move  south.  France, 
deprived  of  her  most  productive  indus- 
trial districts,  proceeded  to  create  new 
ones.  Thus,  the  cloth-makers  of  Sedan 
moved  away  and  established  themselves 
at  Bayonne  and  on  the  Spanish  frontier, 
while  the  wool-combers  of  Roubaix  took 
up  their  handicraft  again  at  Vienne  on  the 
Rhone,  south  of  Lyons.  The  transforma- 
tion of  communities  in  the  south  of  France 
by  this  industrial  immigration  is  de- 
scribed as  having  been  in  many  cases  truly 
remarkable. 

When  Paris  itself  was  threatened  by  the 
long-range  guns,  a  considerable  number  of 
Parisian  factories  moved  elsewhere,  either 
to  strengthen  centers  already  powerful, 
particularly  Lyons,  or  to  create,  some- 
times in  the  open  country,  entirely  new 
centers. 

While  much  of  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation and  expansion  of  industries  in 
these  regions  may  be  regarded  as  tem- 
porary changes  induced  by  the  war, 
it  is  generally  expected  that  the  south 
of  France  will  retain  a  large  percentage 
of  the  new  industrial  capacity  which  the 
war  brought  to  it.  Businesses  which 
have  had  to  bear  the  expenses  and  losses 
of  one  removal  will  not,  except  for  very 
urgent  reasons,  undertake  another. 

But  there  are  more  substantial  reasons 
than  the  disinclination  of  business  to 
abandon  established  channels  for  believ- 
ing that  the  south  of  France  will  continue 
to  be  much  more  important  industrially 
than  it  was  before  the  war.  The  coal  of 
northern  France  provided  one  of  the  basic 
reasons  for  the  former  concentration  of 
industry  in  that  section.  But  if  the  south 
of  France  is  deficient  in  coal  supply,  it 
20] 


possesses  a  very  large  percentage  of  the 
country's  "white  fuel" — water-power. 

There  is  evidence  that  even  before 
the  war  there  was  a  tendency  on  the  part 
of  industry  to  shift  toward  the  south  to 
take  advantage  of  these  resources  hith- 
erto relatively  undeveloped,  and  the  war 
gave  a  decided  impetus  to  the  exploitation 


southern  development  is  proved  by  the 
increases  in  the  population  of  these  cities. 
Marseilles  and  Lyons  are  especially  fav- 
orably located  to  retain  their  new  indus- 
trial capacity,  for  they  are  situated  in  the 
valley  of  the  Rhone  where  many  of  the 
largest  water-power  projects  have  been 
and  will  be  carried  out. 


INDUSTRIAL    FRANCE 


WATER  POWER 


D/STR/CTS  OE~ 
tNDUSTR/AL 
COHCENTRA  T/O/V 


Courtesy  "La  France" 

May  indicating  the  industrial  importance  of  the  cities  of  Lyons,  Marseilles  and  Bordeaux 


of  this  water-power.  The  new  water- 
power  developed  during  the  three  and 
a  half  years  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war  to  the  end  of  1917  was  374,000  horse- 
power. The  rapid  rate  of  development 
may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  in  1913 
the  total  water-power  utilized  in  all 
France  amounted  to  only  650,000  horse- 
power. 

That  Bordeaux,  Lyons,  and  Marseilles 
have  shared  prominently  in  the  recent 


Municipal  Finances 
The  high  credit  enjoyed  by  these  three 
French  cities  is  indicated  by  the  prices  at 
which  their  internal  obligations  are  selling 
in  France.  Below  are  shown  recent  prices 
and  yields  for  two  important  internal 
issues,  one  of  Bordeaux  and  one  of  Mar- 
seilles: 


Marseilles . 
Bordeaux 


Date  Par   Price  about 

Rate     leaned  Value       Feb.  1      Yield 

3J^%     1890  500  f.      421  f.     4.54% 

3>*%     1891  500  f.      473  f.     4.11% 


[2i ; 


The  following  table  shows  the  debt  of 
each  of  the  cities.  The  amount  of  internal 
debt  payable  in  francs  is  converted  into 
dollars  at  the  normal  rate  of  exchange, 
i.e.,  5.18  francs  to  the  dollar. 


Internal  debt 
(in  1918)      . 

External  debt 
(last  issue)   . 


Lyons  Marseilles         Bordeaux 

$18,050,000    $30,323,184       $8,386,012 

15,000,000       15,000,000       15,000,000 


$33,050,000    $45,323,184     $23,386,612 


Population  (esti- 
mated for  1918)  600,000  750,000  305,000 
Per  capita  debt .    .           $55.08                160.43  $76.67 

The  finances  of  all  French  cities  are 
supervised  by  the  National  Government. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  larger 
French  cities  such  as  Bordeaux,  Lyons  and 
Marseilles,  for  in  the  case  of  municipalities 
having  annual  receipts  of  more  than 
$580,150,  the  budget  and  all  other  im- 
portant financial  matters  are  passed  upon 


by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  repre- 
senting the  President  of  the  Republic. 
The  Minister  of  the  Interior  may  elimi- 
nate or  reduce  items  in  a  proposed  munici- 
pal budget,  but  in  no  case  may  he  increase 
the  items. 

Loans  may  be  voted  by  the  Municipal 
Council  of  a  city,  but  in  order  to  secure 
the  necessary  approval  by  the  National 
Government,  the  municipality  must  sat- 
isfy the  central  authorities  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  proposed  expenditures  to  be  made 
from  the  proceeds  of  the  loan,  and  also  as 
to  the  plans  for  raising  the  requisite  rev- 
enue for  interest  and  sinking  fund  pay- 
ments, and  as  to  the  ability  of  the  munici- 
pality to  raise  the  revenue.  The  Court  of 
Accounts,  a  national  institution,  surveys 
and  audits  all  accounts  of  cities  and  towns 
with  annual  revenues  in  excess  of  $5,800. 
The  national  control  and  audit  of  munici- 


Courtesy  French  High  Commission 


Scene  in  Lyons,  ranked  as  the  second  city  in  France  in  population,  manufacturing  and  commerce. 

Lyons  leads  the  world  in  silk  manufactures 

[221 


Courtesy  French  High  C 


Farm  exhibits  at  the  annual  Lyons  sample  fair.     Transactions  at  the  fair  last  year 
amounted  to  about  $200,000,000 


pal  finances  tends  to  insure  a  conservative 
fiscal  policy  on  the  part  of  the  munici- 
palities. 

Of  the  numerous  sources  of  revenue 
possessed  by  the  French  cities,  the  most 
important  are  the  "octroi"  and  the  "cen- 
times additionels."  The  "octroi,"  which 
originated  in  ancient  times  as  dues  col- 
lected at  the  city  gates,  are  import  duties 
levied  upon  a  variety  of  merchandise  and 
other  products.  In  Lyons  the  "octroi" 
have  been  abolished  and  a  group  of  taxes 
substituted  "in  lieu  of  'octroi.'  '  The 
"centimes  additionels"  are  percentages 
added  by  the  cities  to  the  national  tax 
on  personal  and  real  property,  a  fortunate 
circumstance  in  connection  with  this  tax 
being  that  it  is  collected  by  the  central 
government  at  the  same  time  as  the  na- 
tional tax  and  the  proceeds  are  turned 
over  to  the  municipal  authorities. 

Among  the  other  sources  of  revenue 
commonly  enjoyed  by  the  French  cities 
are  revenues  from  municipal  public  util- 
ities, particularly  waterworks,  income 
from  municipal  real  estate  rented  to  pri- 
vate individuals  and  receipts  on  account 
of  concessions  to  gas  works,  electric  light 
and  power  works,  tramways,  etc. 


Lyons 

Lyons  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Rhone  and  Saone  Rivers,  about  300 
miles  southeast  of  Paris  and  175  miles 
north  of  Marseilles.  The  city  was  settled 
by  the  Romans  in  41  B.  C. 

In  importance  as  a  manufacturing  and 
commercial  center,  Lyons  is  ranked  next 
to  Paris.  In  size  it  is  the  third  city  of 
France,  having  a  population  estimated  at 
600,000  in  1918. 

For  several  centuries  Lyons  has  been 
the  center  of  the  silk  industry  of  France 
and  now  it  leads  the  world  in  silk  manu- 
factures. The  silk  industry  was  originally 
derived  from  Italy  and  was  patronized  by 
the  French  kings;  in  14.50  the  French  King 
Charles  gave  Lyons  a  monopoly  in  the 
industry. 

Over  90,000  looms  and  200,000  hands 
are  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  in 
Lyons.  In  addition  allied  industries,  such 
as  dyeing,  printing  and  finishing,  employ 
many  thousands.  The  subsidiary  indus- 
tries include  the  production  of  articles 
required  in  the  silk  and  dyeing  trades, 
such  as  dyes,  glue,  gelatine  and  chemical 
products.  Silk  production  has  steadily 
increased  in  the  last  few  years.     In  1918 


it  amounted  to  $135,038,610.03,  against 
$90,289,575.28  in  1913. 

Industries  other  than  silk  manufac- 
turing and  allied  trades  are  well  repre- 
sented at  Lyons,  and  have  undergone  a 
great  development  during  the  war,  many 
industries  from  northern  France  having 
established  themselves  in  this  vicinity. 
Among  these  industries  the  iron  and  steel 
have  an  important  place.  In  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  Lyons  are  located 
large  structural  and  mechanical  steel 
plants,  steam  engine  and  automobile  fac- 
tories, one  of  which  covers  250  acres. 
The  chemical  and  perfumery  industries 
have  been  developed  on  a  large  scale 
since  the  war.  Other  industries  include 
tanneries,  flour  mills,  breweries,  glass- 
works, and  the  famous  sausages  for  which 
Lyons  is  renowned. 

The  importance  of  Lyons  as  a  trade  cen- 
ter is  evidenced  by  the  sample  fairs  held 
each  year  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  at 
which  numerous  lines  of  manufactured 
goods  are  represented.  It  is  reported  that 
transactions  last  year  at  the  fair  amounted 
to  about  $200,000,000. 

Lyons  is  divided  into  three  parts  by  the 
Rhone  and  Saone,  along  the  banks  of 
which  several  miles  of  quays  have  been 
built  to  handle  the  river  traffic.  Proposed 
development  of  the  two  rivers  and  con- 
struction of  a  canal  connecting  them  with 
the  Rhine  will,  if  carried  out,  do  much  to 
increase  the  water  traffic  of  Lyons.  From 
the  standpoint  of  railway  transportation, 
Lyons  has  ample  facilities.  The  great 
trunk  line  of  the  Paris,  Lyons  and  Medi- 
terranean Railroad  runs  through  Lyons, 
which  is  the  crossing  point  of  the  roads 
leading  from  Paris,  central  and  southern 
France  to  Switzerland  and  southeastern 
Europe. 

Vast  plans  are  under  way  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  water-power  of  the 
Rhone  River.     The  power  of  the  Rhone 


available  on  French  soil  is  estimated  at 
750,000  horse-power,  equal  to  a  saving  of 
five  million  tons  of  coal  per  annum. 
Canalization  of  the  Rhone  when  com- 
pleted will  permit  1,200-ton  barges  to 
reach  Lyons  from  the  sea. 

Coal  and  copper  are  mined  in  the  Lyons 
district,  as  well  as  pyrites  for  the  extrac- 
tion of  sulphuric  acid,  and  building  stone, 
which  tradition  tells  us  was  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  Lyons  Cathedral.  The 
great  volume  of  business  transacted  in 
Lyons  has  led  to  the  development  of 
strong  financial  institutions,  of  which  the 
Credit  Lyonnais,  transacting  a  world- 
wide business  through  more  than  one 
thousand  branches,  is  the  best  known. 

Municipal  receipts  in  1918  amounted 
to  $5,620,000  at  par  of  exchange,  includ- 
ing $2,640,000  for  local  customs  dues. 

Marseilles 

Since  the  time  of  the  Phoenician  traders 
more  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  Mar- 
seilles has  been  a  gateway  of  commerce. 
That  it  has  been  such  is  not  surprising,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  greatest  natural  seaports 
in  the  world.  It  is  now  the  principal  port 
of  France  and  the  leading  maritime  city 
of  the  Mediterranean,  with  an  estimated 
population  in  1918  of  750,000. 

The  traffic  in  merchandise  passing 
through  Marseilles  has  increased  from 
4,372,000  tons  in  1870  to  more  than  21,- 
590,000  tons  at  the  present  time.  The 
main  reason  for  this  remarkable  growth  in 
commerce  is  to  be  found  in  the  opening  of 
the  Suez  Canal,  which  placed  the  city  in 
a  favored  position  with  reference  to  the 
trade  with  India  and  the  Orient. 

In  addition  to  being  the  dominating 
factor  in  the  trade  with  the  Levant,  Mar- 
seilles also  controls  a  large  part  of  the 
commerce  of  France  with  the  French  col- 
onies in  Africa.  This  trade  may  be  ex- 
pected to  increase  with  the  development 
of  these  African  regions. 


'24' 


Copyright  Brown  Bros. 

The  harbor  of  Marseilles,  the  principal  port  of  France,  and  one  of  the  world's  greatest 

natural  seaports 


As  would  be  expected,  Marseilles  is  the 
center  of  extensive  transportation  facili- 
ties. From  it  ply  numerous  lines  of 
steamers,  the  routes  of  which  cover  the 
Mediterranean,  the  Orient,  and  the  North 
and  South  Atlantic. 

Marseilles  is  the  terminal  of  the  largest 
and  richest  railway  system  in  France.  The 
Paris,  Lyons  and  Mediterranean  Rail- 
road, which  links  Marseilles  to  Paris  and 
Lyons,  is  also  the  highway  to  Nice  and 
Italy.  Marseilles  is  the  natural  point  of 
contact  between  southeastern  and  south- 
western France. 

Port  facilities  in  Marseilles  have  been 
expanded  to  keep  pace  with  trade.  At 
present  the  city  has  ten  wet  docks,  six 
dry  docks  and  twenty-five  miles  of  quay- 
age with  well  equipped  warehouses,  which 
afford  accommodation  for  2,000  vessels  at 
once.  Marseilles  is  not  satisfied  with  what 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  this 
respect,  however,  but  has  undertaken 
further  extensive  harbor  improvements 
and  additions,  the  total  cost  of  which  is 
estimated  at  $33,000,000. 


In  1913  the  shipping  movement  was: 

Incoming  and  outgoing  ships  17,278 
Tonnage  deadweight  .  .  .21,090,000 
Tons  of  merchandise  .  .  .  8,938,652 
Travelers 566,165 

During  the  war  the  traffic  of  the  port 
underwent  important  changes.  In  1915 
the  number  of  ships  was  reduced  to  12,618, 
tonnage  to  16,407,826,  and  merchandise 
to  7,681,833  tons.  This  decrease  was 
particularly  noticeable  in  exports.  The 
figures  for  1915  do  not  include  the  war 
traffic  of  the  French  and  British  military 
bases. 

Marseilles  is  also  the  actuating  force 
behind  the  movement  for  the  canalization 
of  the  Rhone,  which  when  completed  will 
afford  a  waterway  across  Europe  by 
means  of  the  Rhone,  Saone  and  Rhine.  It 
now  connects  with  the  Rhone  by  the  St. 
Louis  canal  and  when  the  present  plans 
are  completed  1,200-ton  barges  may  go  as 
far  as  Lyons,  200  miles  inland. 

This  work  will  cost  $482,000,000  and 
will  be  carried  out  by  a  company  with  a 
capital  of  $48,000,000  subscribed  by  the 


25 


cities  of  Paris  and  Lyons,  the  depart- 
ments of  the  Rhone  Valley,  the  Chambers 
of  Commerce  and  the  leading  industrial 
interests. 

This  project  provides  for  the  establish- 
ment of  20  hydro-electric  plants  with  a 
capacity  of  715,000  horse-power,  giving 
4  billion  kilowatt-hours,  or  an  equivalent 
saving  of  5  million  tons  of  coal. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Marseilles 
more  than  500,000  acres  of  tillable  land 
will  be  made  available  by  the  canaliza- 
tion of  the  Rhone. 

In  addition  to  being  a  shipping  center, 
Marseilles  has  many  large  industries.  The 
chief  of  these  industries  are  oil  crushing, 
soap  and  candle  making,  and  flour  milling. 
In  1914,  forty  seed-oil  mills  were  operated 
and  in  that  year  605,000  long  tons  of  oil 
seeds  were  imported  to  be  ground.  In  the 
same  year  26,000  long  tons  of  olive  oil 
were  imported,  much  of  which  was  ex- 
ported after  treatment.  The  soap  mak- 
ing establishments  number  about  50,  and 
have  an  annual  capacity  of  175,000  tons. 
The  engineering  and  metal  trades  employ 
more  than  one-tenth  the  total  industrial 


population.  Construction  iron,  locomo- 
tives, boilers,  motor  cars,  hydraulic  and 
other  machinery,  and  ship  fittings  are 
manufactured. 

Other  industries  include  sugar  refiner- 
ies, rice  mills,  textile  and  shoe  factories, 
macaroni  mills,  and  chemical  factories. 

Nearby,  lending  its  activity  to  the  life 
of  Marseilles,  are  located  great  shipbuild- 
ing yards  and  manufactories  of  Govern- 
ment monopolies,  such  as  matches,  to- 
bacco, and  gunpowder. 

The  population  of  Marseilles  rose  from 
195,000  in  1851  to  750,000  in  1918,  making 
it  the  second  French  city  in  size.  This 
remarkable  increase  at  a  time  when  the 
total  population  of  France  remained  more 
or  less  stationary  emphasizes  the  favor- 
able location  of  Marseilles  as  regards  com- 
merce and  industry. 

In  1918  the  fiscal  receipts  were  $9,072,- 
411.  Direct  taxation  yielded  $2,150,000 
and  municipal  customs  dues  $2,830,000. 
Expenses  included  $1,220,000  for  public 
instruction.  In  1915  the  total  value  of 
municipal  real  estate  was  estimated  at 
$19,500,000. 


*s&       ^SlSr  '  fern 


%mm 


Photo  Ed  win  tevick.  New  York 


Bird's-eye  view  of  the  inner  harbor  at  Bordeaux 
[261 


**^^p*  %k,    *>v  '■ 

7^    .  ™  pJt 

!      •      »      "^                            ■'»  * 

.• 

^''t,      /-,ff."~      -■"—..           "  v ', '/.!';;, '  " 

Courtesy  French  High  Commission 


The  Bordeaux  waterfront 


Bordeaux 

Bordeaux,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
River  Garonne,  about  sixty  miles  from  the 
Atlantic,  has  one  of  the  finest  three  har- 
bors in  France,  and  with  its  estimated 
population  of  305,000  in  1918  ranks  fourth 
among  the  cities  of  France. 

Like  Marseilles,  Bordeaux  is  important 
as  a  shipping  center.  It  is  the  terminus  of 
many  steamship  lines,  the  most  impor- 
tant of  which  is  the  French  South  Amer- 
ican service.  Through  it  passes  most  of 
the  Brazilian  and  Argentine  trade  with 
France,  and  also  a  considerable  part  of  the 
trade  with  the  African  colonies  of  France. 
It  maintains  commercial  relations  with 
all  countries,  but  chiefly,  aside  from  those 
already  mentioned,  with  Great  Britain, 
Spain,  Portugal  and  the  United  States. 
The  pre-war  record  exhibits  an  annual 
entrance  and  clearance  from  the  harbor 
of  vessels  aggregating  5,228,000  tons. 

Bordeaux  wine  enjoys  a  universal  repu- 
tation. It  is  produced  in  the  country  im- 
mediately surrounding  the  city  and  its 
79,000,000  gallons  a  year  form  the  prin- 
cipal basis  of  the  commerce  of  Bor- 
deaux.   Among  the  list  of  important  ex- 


ports are  pine  timber  and  its  by-products, 
turpentine,  rosin,  etc.,  textiles,  chemicals, 
sugar,  rice,  hardware  and  machinery. 

The  chief  imports  are  metals,  coal, 
grain,  rubber,  coffee  and  cacao,  hides,  and 
cabinet  woods. 

Of  the  local  industries,  shipbuilding  is 
the  most  important.  There  is  a  consider- 
able number  of  industries  which  transform 
imported  raw  products  into  finished  goods; 
prominent  among  these  are  the  tanneries 
and  leather-working  industries  which  man- 
ufacture the  hides  received  from  South 
America,  cabinetmaking  which  trans- 
forms the  fine  woods  brought  from  Af- 
rica, fertilizer  factories  which  make  avail- 
able for  agricultural  use  the  imported 
natural  phosphates,  and  a  refinery  for 
crude  petroleum  from  America. 

Large-scale  production  is  maintained  in 
the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods,  rope, 
carpets,  railway  equipment,  automobiles, 
refined  sugar,  tobacco,  glass  bottles, 
earthenware,  and  paper. 

The  harbor  of  Bordeaux  is  capable  of 
accommodating  1,000  to  1,200  vessels  at 
Prior  to    1917   over   100,000,000 


once. 


[27] 


francs  had  been 
spent  in  improving 
the  entrance  to  the 
harbor  and  in  con- 
structing a  break- 
water and  canals 
and  other  additions 
to  port  facilities. 
Important  as  had 
been  the  port  im- 
provements prior  to 
1917,  new  facilities 
were  added  during 

that  and  the  succeeding  year  at  a  rate 
never  before  attained.  The  agency  which 
effected  these  overnight  changes  was  the 
American  Army;  in  six  months  it  had  com- 
pleted port  facilities  which  engineers  had 
predicted  would  take  two  years  to  build. 
The  result  for  Bordeaux  is  that  it  emerges 
from  the  war  with  greatly  increased  equip- 
ment for  carrying  on  industrial  and  com- 


Copyright  Brown  Bros. 

Lighters  and  barges  in  the  harbor  oj 
Bordeaux 


mercial  activities. 
"Watch  Bordeaux" 
is  therefore  a  slogan 
in  the  minds  of 
those  who  know  the 
city's  great  expan- 
sion in  wharfage  and 
warehouse  facilities. 
In  1918,  at  par  of 
exchange,  municipal 
receipts  totaled  $4,- 
000,000,  including 
$1,317,000  from  mu- 
nicipal customs  dues . 
Bordeaux  is  an  important  rail-head.  To 
it  converge  the  two  important  trunk  lines 
of  the  Paris-Orleans  Railroad  and  of  the 
Midi  Railroad,  over  whose  lines  runs  the 
Paris-Madrid  express.  Bordeaux,  further- 
more, is  the  natural  sea  outlet  of  central 
and  southwestern  Prance,  whose  rapid  de- 
velopment since  the  war  holds  forth  great 
promises  for  the  future. 


28" 


14  DAY  USE 

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LOAN  DEPT. 


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.General  Library 

Umrenny  of  California 

Berkeley 


Gaylamount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros..  Inc. 

Stockton,  Calif. 
T.M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat. Off. 


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